Motive magazine: Rx-8 R3 Mother won't approve
12-16-2008, 03:03 PM
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12-20-2008, 01:56 AM
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He gave it a fair evaluation. Neutral, fair, and accurate. I think every journalist in the world is disappointed with the power, as is any owner who love power, and racing. (That was NOT meant to draw attacks on me by people who believe their car can do no wrong, it is just a personal observation.)
12-20-2008, 09:36 AM
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a pretty nice review that highlighted the spirited side of the car...but i think it painted the car as a bit too hard core. is the r3 really that hard core? plenty of people use boxsters and caymans as daily drivers, for peet's sake; the r3 has to be more user friendly compared to those. it has 4 seats and a pretty decent trunk. i'm sure the r3 is pretty awful in the winter (i'd be heartbroken to have to drag those rims and body kit thru the snow), but other than that i'd say it's a pretty good compromise b/t a hard core handler and an everyday car. i really like the r3 but i haven't driven it yet; is it really that much rawer compared to the regular version?
12-20-2008, 11:42 AM
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Damn this thread. It made me think about test driving an R3 and my local dealer just so happens to have 2 on their lot. Even though I miss my 8 (driving the winter car right now: Escort 
) I'm not so heartless as to take a new RX-8 out for a test drive in the winter. Especially since we just got 12 inches of snow and will probably have another 8 or so in the next few days.
I need to move
) I'm not so heartless as to take a new RX-8 out for a test drive in the winter. Especially since we just got 12 inches of snow and will probably have another 8 or so in the next few days.I need to move
12-20-2008, 02:20 PM
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i couldnt read the article either...those damn seats. we just sold the r3 at our dealer...i almost cried when it drove off. i love those seats....oh and anyone notice the rear spoiler on the r3? its not just the same old spoiler out of the 04-08 appearance package. you can sort of see the little angled edge in the one pic in the article. its actually really nice and subtle in person. but damn...those seats make me excuse all the other shortcomings of the 09. oh, and the wheels are peices of art as well. the rest of the car....im not so keen on...the front bumper....meh. the rear bumper...meh. the fender vents...really meh. I also like where reverse is now though. its more natural to me up beside 1st than down beside 6th.
Greg
Greg
12-20-2008, 05:19 PM
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I don't get the complaints about the day-to-day livability of the car. The seats are comfortable, the ride is good (certainly far better than FWD box rockets) and frankly, now that my car has 30,000 miles on it, the MPG is getting better!
12-20-2008, 06:31 PM
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I'd like to test drive an R3, but I just don't think I could justify "upgrading" my '04 when they just haven't done anything to make the engine better or give it any more power. I personally can't believe Mazda will go through their planned 10 year life cycle of this car without tweaking the engine at all to give it more power. That is absurd. Just looking at the Z, they've upped the power a couple of times during the last several years. It's nothing major, but it nice to know they are constantly trying to upgrade and make the car better. Even your regular econoboxes like the Camry and Civic manage to get power bumps every few years, while maintaining or bettering MPG.
12-20-2008, 08:24 PM
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I'd like to test drive an R3, but I just don't think I could justify "upgrading" my '04 when they just haven't done anything to make the engine better or give it any more power. I personally can't believe Mazda will go through their planned 10 year life cycle of this car without tweaking the engine at all to give it more power. That is absurd. Just looking at the Z, they've upped the power a couple of times during the last several years. It's nothing major, but it nice to know they are constantly trying to upgrade and make the car better. Even your regular econoboxes like the Camry and Civic manage to get power bumps every few years, while maintaining or bettering MPG.
If you would read the RX-8 book, you would understand and appreciate just how difficult it was for Mazda to create the RENESIS and the RX-8 overall. They've basically extracted all they can from that engine and car in order to find an acceptable balance between reliability and performance. More of one would require a sacrifice of the other.
The RENESIS/RX-8 is not going to get more power from the factory. The only way you're going to see a more powerful rotary/RX car from the factory is via a redesign/new model with a 16X.
The RX-8 had nine lives during development. There were so many things working against it. We're lucky it went into production, and I give Mazda all the respect in the world for apparently sticking to their original 10-year plan INCLUDING the significant updates made with the '09+ models.
12-21-2008, 08:37 AM
#14
You fail. There have been several important updates introduced on the '09, including improvements to the engine. A third oil injector has been added for each rotor, in addition to fully electronic metering and what appears to be an improved pumping system.
If you would read the RX-8 book, you would understand and appreciate just how difficult it was for Mazda to create the RENESIS and the RX-8 overall. They've basically extracted all they can from that engine and car in order to find an acceptable balance between reliability and performance. More of one would require a sacrifice of the other.
The RENESIS/RX-8 is not going to get more power from the factory. The only way you're going to see a more powerful rotary/RX car from the factory is via a redesign/new model with a 16X.
The RX-8 had nine lives during development. There were so many things working against it. We're lucky it went into production, and I give Mazda all the respect in the world for apparently sticking to their original 10-year plan INCLUDING the significant updates made with the '09+ models.
If you would read the RX-8 book, you would understand and appreciate just how difficult it was for Mazda to create the RENESIS and the RX-8 overall. They've basically extracted all they can from that engine and car in order to find an acceptable balance between reliability and performance. More of one would require a sacrifice of the other.
The RENESIS/RX-8 is not going to get more power from the factory. The only way you're going to see a more powerful rotary/RX car from the factory is via a redesign/new model with a 16X.
The RX-8 had nine lives during development. There were so many things working against it. We're lucky it went into production, and I give Mazda all the respect in the world for apparently sticking to their original 10-year plan INCLUDING the significant updates made with the '09+ models.
12-21-2008, 09:50 AM
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True, and besides that, the power has always been adequate for any kind of driving I do. The engine is satisfying to use, and I never gave one crap about the 0-60 times.
The play's the thing. I'm not going to get any more satisfaction driving another car and thinking to myself "well, I got to 40 MPH in three tenths of a second less than that car did, so therefore I'm happier."
12-21-2008, 08:11 PM
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The 2009+ RX-8 also features the following improvements:
-tweaked rear suspension and additional chassis bracing
-additional structural reinforcement for better safety/crash performance
-strengthened prop shaft for less vibration
Again, these changes might be "subtle" but they are definitely noteworthy, welcome, and shouldn't be discounted. The car was well-designed in the first place, so "fundamental" changes weren't needed.
The only thing that I find disappointing is that they haven't fixed that 3rd brake light! I mean come on, it should have been LED from day 1. It looks so out of place with the new LED tails, and just looks cheap in general, like something from a low-rent 10-year old domestic compact.
-tweaked rear suspension and additional chassis bracing
-additional structural reinforcement for better safety/crash performance
-strengthened prop shaft for less vibration
Again, these changes might be "subtle" but they are definitely noteworthy, welcome, and shouldn't be discounted. The car was well-designed in the first place, so "fundamental" changes weren't needed.
The only thing that I find disappointing is that they haven't fixed that 3rd brake light! I mean come on, it should have been LED from day 1. It looks so out of place with the new LED tails, and just looks cheap in general, like something from a low-rent 10-year old domestic compact.
12-22-2008, 07:17 PM
#19
Grand Chancellor
I'd like to test drive an R3, but I just don't think I could justify "upgrading" my '04 when they just haven't done anything to make the engine better or give it any more power. I personally can't believe Mazda will go through their planned 10 year life cycle of this car without tweaking the engine at all to give it more power. That is absurd. Just looking at the Z, they've upped the power a couple of times during the last several years. It's nothing major, but it nice to know they are constantly trying to upgrade and make the car better. Even your regular econoboxes like the Camry and Civic manage to get power bumps every few years, while maintaining or bettering MPG.
Sure they did! Mazda successfully tweaked the engine over the years to lower the hp! From 250hp to a 232hp. Now that something. How many car companies could claim that fame.
12-22-2008, 07:46 PM
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12-23-2008, 02:29 PM
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I don't know how you guys survive winter without driving your 8,
I can't do 2 days without driving my new 8, I get withdrawals!!! Seriously,I do!
I can't do 2 days without driving my new 8, I get withdrawals!!! Seriously,I do!
12-23-2008, 08:42 PM
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I'm going to have to echo the review a bit, and disagree with a few things that were said in it, and also disagree with some posters
First to echo the review, I've sat in the seats of the R3 for not more than a minute and that minute was seriously horrible. I'm not a small guy by any means, 6' 220pbls, and I gotta say my shoulders wouldnt fit in those seats if you chopped half a foot off my shoulder span. Those seats are a horrible idea on a production car. I appauled the idea to make a stock car track worthy , but frankly with so few of these cars being sold already in todays market (compared to say the f-150) to further restrict the buyer base just makes no since to me.
Secondly, I have an 05 that I've been driving for close to a year and a half now as a DD. I am def not an expert at driving sticks as I give the car some pretty good hell now and then, but as far as shifting is concerned in heavy traffic (think stop and go on DFW highways) I dont think this car is hard to drive. If anything not having alot of torque is a good thing and makes it easier to drive in those start, get to 10mph, and then come to a complete stop situations. My only gripe is that my clutch foot tends to get a bit tired, and thats with mme trying to take breaks by going very slow and putting huge gaps in front of me so I can coast a bit.
First to echo the review, I've sat in the seats of the R3 for not more than a minute and that minute was seriously horrible. I'm not a small guy by any means, 6' 220pbls, and I gotta say my shoulders wouldnt fit in those seats if you chopped half a foot off my shoulder span. Those seats are a horrible idea on a production car. I appauled the idea to make a stock car track worthy , but frankly with so few of these cars being sold already in todays market (compared to say the f-150) to further restrict the buyer base just makes no since to me.
Secondly, I have an 05 that I've been driving for close to a year and a half now as a DD. I am def not an expert at driving sticks as I give the car some pretty good hell now and then, but as far as shifting is concerned in heavy traffic (think stop and go on DFW highways) I dont think this car is hard to drive. If anything not having alot of torque is a good thing and makes it easier to drive in those start, get to 10mph, and then come to a complete stop situations. My only gripe is that my clutch foot tends to get a bit tired, and thats with mme trying to take breaks by going very slow and putting huge gaps in front of me so I can coast a bit.
